Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned by President Trump's chaotic, contradictory, and harmful trade policy that affect American families and my state of Illinois. His emergency powers to impose tariffs have disrupted business and commerce to operate successfully during a time of inconsistent policy initiatives with major trading partners like Canada, China, and Mexico.

What is more alarming is that this trade policy also undermines the Republican Party's historic commitment to free markets and open trade. It is not based on a clear, comprehensive, well-balanced and measured policy vision, but rather on arbitrary decisions that seem to reflect the preferences of a single individual--or a small group--more than the American people. We've now reached a point where this `` America First'' trade policy is now delivering real economic damage across the country.

I want to emphasize that this is not an isolated concern. My constituents, as well as economists, academicians, and policy experts across the country have echoed the same worries. The Administration's recent approach to tariffs has created serious uncertainty for U.S. businesses, workers, and consumers. This is not just a matter of opinion, it is supported by data and economic analysis.

Economic experts estimate that the 2025 tariffs will raise overall prices by 2.3 percent, costing the average household $3,800 annually, with even greater burdens on working-class families. Clothing prices are expected to jump by 33 percent, and food prices by 4.5 percent. These are not abstract numbers, they represent real consequences for real people: higher grocery bills and more expensive everyday essentials.

For instance, Canada, Illinois's top export market for oil, vehicles parts, and agricultural products, has already signaled retaliation,

threatening our supply chains and manufacturing sectors. A similar pattern occurs with China, where Illinois sends substantial volumes of agricultural products and electronics. Mexico is another major trading partner in auto parts, machinery, and food products. Disrupting the supply chains through tariffs or threats to pull out of trade deals like the USMCA could destabilize job-creating industries within Illinois.

Moreover, this trade strategy is not only economically damaging, but also unconstitutional. Congress, not the President, holds the exclusive authority to regulate foreign commerce. The Administration's abuse of emergency powers to give himself authority to regulate foreign trade and impose tariffs on the entire world bypasses the legislative process, undermines transparency, and strips away the opportunity for public accountability.

This is why, I urge my colleagues, especially Republican Members of Congress, to approach this trade policy in a joint and measured manner for our constituents. When Congress gives away its capacity to question and dialogue with the other branch, we weaken our position and risk deals that don't reflect all American values or economic priorities.

Mr. Speaker, Henry Peter Brougham once said, ``Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern but impossible to enslave.'' The Trump Administration's deliberate evisceration of education--from preschool to higher education--is a dangerous attack on our democracy that will damage our people, communities, and country.

Given that education is a key factor in economic well-being, federal education law promotes equity and access so that students from various backgrounds can thrive. President Trump, with the help of Elon Musk, is gutting the Department of Education under the false pretense of returning power to the states which already have the primary responsibility for public education.

In addition to cutting federal workers that oversee Head Start, President Trump reportedly plans to eliminate Head Start in his FY26 Budget. Head Start reduces educational disparities so that lower-income children enter school ready to learn. Gutting it directly harms over 1 million parents who rely on Head Start to work, over 800,000 children, and tens of thousands of workers--undermining vulnerable children and communities.

For K-12 education, Trump's actions jeopardize key programs that improve educational success for low-income students and students with disabilities. Contrary to federal law, Mr. Trump plans to withhold Title I grants that help districts meet the educational needs of students with limited financial means based on his personal whims about curricular content. Title I assists 26 million children across the nation and is a principal tool to address the disparities that impact marginalized groups, such as Black and brown students. Further, the Republicans Budget plans seek to dramatically cut education funding, with Illinois at risk of losing approximately $793 million and 12,000 teachers. Further, Trump's cuts threaten the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) that provides protection and funding for students with disabilities. Illinois received one billion dollars in IDEA funding in 2024 to strengthen education for our youngest Illinoisans. Federal support is vital to providing students with an educational foundation for success.

The attacks on higher education are equally devastating to the well- being of our citizens and economy, promoting a greater divide between the haves and have nots. This Trump Administration seeks to slash key federal programs that improve access to higher education, including Pell Grants, loans, work-study, TRIO, GEAR UP, and CCAMPIS. Approximately 45 percent of full-time Black students graduate from public four-year colleges and universities within six years, with finances playing a large role in this outcome. Stripping first- generation, low-income, or minority students of the few financial and academic resources the government provides reduces college affordability and, once again, places students who are already at a disadvantage further from the finish line. In addition, he signed an executive order refusing Public Service Loan Forgiveness to non-profits that he does not like.

President Trump further is targeting higher education institutions as if they were the enemy, withholding billions in research funds, removing visas from students and faculty, illegally-halting grants, and threatening to revoke their nonprofit status simply because their work does not align with the President's agenda. Illinois is home to several R1 institutions whose work revolves around studying underrepresented populations that are impacted by these decisions. I helped expand these federal education laws and research funding, and I will fight to protect them.

The Trump-Musk administration and Congressional Republicans seek to demolish the educational foundation of our country to fund tax handouts for the wealthiest individuals and companies. I am especially appalled by the President's myopic focus to write race, gender, and ability out of history. We must remind ourselves that federal investment in education fosters enrichment and equal opportunities. If we allow this evisceration of education to continue, our country and students will wither.

Mr. Speaker, as a policymaker and citizen, I unconditionally and absolutely reject President Trump's and Elon Musk's work to steal American's Social Security benefits, a scheme that hurts middle-class and working-class families and seniors to pay for tax handouts to billionaires. When Americans already face increased prices and economic hardship from the President's chaotic policies, Mr. Trump threatens Social Security--the leading assistance program that 73 million Americans depend on for monthly assistance. This group includes the more than 7 million seniors aged 65 or older for whom 90 percent of their income is their earned Social Security benefits. Without Social Security, 52.2 percent of older women would live in poverty. About 45 percent of Black seniors, 52 percent of Latino seniors, and 41 percent of Asian-American seniors rely mostly or only on Social Security for income. This effort to gut Social Security is an appalling illustration of the highest level of greed, where billionaires rob from hard-working Americans to augment their wealth.

By slashing staff, closing 6 out of 10 regional offices, cutting customer service operations, restricting phone service assistance, and spreading falsehoods about the Social Security Administration (SSA), Trump and Musk jeopardize Americans' earned benefits and security. Let me be clear--cuts to the Social Security Administration that prevent beneficiaries from accessing their benefits are absolutely, unequivocally backdoor benefit cuts. Seniors and people with disabilities cannot get help by phone due to reduced phone service. They can't get help by the website that frequently crashes and presents access barriers to the elderly. Nor can they get help in person given the increased distance to offices and longer wait times due to dramatic staff cuts and office closures.

At the time when the greatest number of baby boomers are retiring and need the most help and when SSA already is at its lowest staffing level in decades, it is unconscionable that the Republicans seek to gut Social Security and throw seniors, orphans, and those with disabilities into poverty. All baby boomers will be 67 by 2031. So we are in the peak period of retirement. I introduced the Keeping Our Field Offices Open Act as an essential step to protecting Social Security benefits for the 1 in 5 Americans who need these community offices. Field offices serve as a lifeline for seniors and people with disabilities, giving the in-person assistance to ensure they receive their correct benefits. In my Congressional District alone, 68,550 retired workers, 12,772 disabled workers, and 5,239 widowers or parents receive critical Social Security benefits. An additional 25,000 receive Supplemental Security Income to pay their bills and survive. These constituents rely on field offices when they need help. Field offices are not extra or fluff; they are crucial.

I also must refuse the default Republican Social Security ``reform'' of raising the retirement age to 70 given that it would disproportionately harm Black men and communities of color who have lower life expectances. Systematic inequalities in socioeconomic status, education, food security, and access to healthcare play an intricate role in life expectancy. The life expectancy for Black men is age 72.8, in contrast to 77.5 for White men. All Americans should equitably reap the earned benefits of their tireless labor.

With fewer than 100 days in office, President Trump has already caused tremendous harm to Social Security, jeopardizing the well-being of tens of millions of seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. This assault on Social Security is an assault on our nation's most vulnerable and least secure. Across the nation, this damage is in addition to his erratic

and senseless tariffs and the dramatic reductions or eliminations of essential supports for housing, healthcare, food, and education and so much more. These policies threaten the livelihoods of individuals and our nation's economy--all so the obscenely wealthy grow more secure while condemning the majority to a precarious existence, defenseless against life's unpredictability and wholly susceptible to exploitation and despair. I will fight with every ounce of my being to oppose President Trump's and Elon Musk's theft of Social Security and the Republican effort to cripple Americans for their greed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the month of April as Sarcoidosis Awareness Month.

Sarcoidosis is a rare inflammatory disease characterized by the formation of granulomas--tiny clumps of inflammatory cells--in one or more organs of the body. When the immune system goes into overdrive and too many of these clumps form, they can interfere with an organ's structure and function. When left unchecked, chronic inflammation can lead to fibrosis, which is the permanent scarring of organ tissue. This disorder affects the lungs in approximately 90 percent of cases, but it can affect almost any organ in the body.

Despite increasing advances in research, sarcoidosis remains difficult to diagnose with limited treatment options and no known cure. Sarcoidosis is considered chronic in people whose disease remains active for more than 2 to 5 years; in this population sarcoidosis can be debilitating and life-threatening. It's estimated that the prevalence of sarcoidosis in the U.S. ranges between 150,000 and 200,000 with an estimated 1.2 million individuals with sarcoidosis worldwide.

I am proud to have the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) based in my district, in the city of Chicago. I've had the chance to meet wonderful patient advocates and hear their stories. FSR is committed to advancing pivotal research and improving the lives of all impacted by sarcoidosis and has funded over 7 million dollars to support academic research to better understand the cause, mechanisms of progression, and the effective and efficient path to better patient outcomes.

Most recently, I worked with FSR to address a lack of clarity from the Department of Labor regarding whether or not clinical trial participation was a permissible use of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Like other chronic and rare disease patient populations, clinical trial access is critically important for patients with sarcoidosis, as there is no cure and there is a lack of treatment options. When requesting time off to participate in clinical trials, some patients have been denied as HR departments have not interpreted clinical trial participation as a permissible use of leave under FMLA. I, along with other Congress members and leading stakeholder organizations such as FSR, reached out to the DOL to get this clarification. Fortunately, the DOL responded confirming that they interpret clinical trial participation, when medically necessary, is a permissible use of leave under FMLA. It further clarified that both patients and caregivers are guaranteed job protection under FMLA, when meeting the necessary requirements and choosing to participate in clinical trials. This effort extends beyond sarcoidosis and extends to all those seeking to participate in clinical trials. I am now working to spread awareness of this finding, so employers, employees, HR departments and patients are aware of proper use of leave under FMLA.

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research. In celebration of this accomplishment and years of innovation, empowerment and progress, I call on my colleagues to recognize the goals and ideals of Sarcoidosis Awareness Month by supporting federal activities that improve the lives of patients impacted by Sarcoidosis, and to raise awareness and shine a light on the 1.2 million people living with Sarcoidosis.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 998, the Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act. This bill will help taxpayers better understand why they have received a math error notice from the Internal Revenue Service.

Currently, math error notices can be vague and confusing. The law does not specify how the IRS must describe the math error or require the IRS to inform taxpayers that they have 60 days to request that the math error assessment be reversed.

This bill will fix these issues by requiring the Internal Revenue Service to provide a clear and straightforward explanation of any alleged math or clerical error in the notice. It also requires the IRS to update procedures on how to request abatement and, upon the determination of an abatement, to issue a notice of abatement to the taxpayer.

Furthermore, this bill requires implementation of a pilot program to explore the use of alternative mail delivery methods for issuance of math error notices.

I am proud to stand with my colleagues on the Committee on Ways and Means in support of this commonsense reform that will help taxpayers and improve IRS administration, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 998 is a commonsense, bipartisan bill. I encourage my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 997, the National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act. I am pleased to lead this bill with my colleague, Representative Feenstra from Iowa.

The National Taxpayer Advocate is the independent advocate working to assist taxpayers. I am deeply grateful to her and her team for their outstanding work to identify tax policy improvements, to help taxpayers at large, and for their work to help individual taxpayers when they need assistance with a specific problem.

The bill makes a small but important statutory clarification that the National Taxpayer Advocate may appoint and supervise her own legal counsel, rather than only using attorneys that report to the IRS chief counsel.

Being able to appoint independent counsel is an essential step to preserving the independence of the National Taxpayer Advocate Office, as required under section 7803(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Given her independent role, the National Taxpayer Advocate often takes positions contrary to the positions of the IRS and the Office of Chief Counsel. As a result, the National Taxpayer Advocate needs her own independent counsel to advise and adopt legal positions so that she can effectively advocate for taxpayers and to advise Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the committee is marking up the National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act today to protect the independence of the National Taxpayer Advocate, and I hope that this bipartisan effort will extend to dealing with the threat of data privacy that the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service currently are experiencing.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 997 is a commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation and is the product of a recommendation made by the Taxpayer Advocate. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1152, the Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act.

Taxpayers should have one clear deadline to file documents and make required payments. Under current law, payments or certain documents that are mailed to the IRS are considered timely filed as long as they are postmarked by midnight on the due date. This is called the mailbox rule. However, if a taxpayer submits certain payments or documents to the IRS electronically on a given due date but they are not processed until the next day, they would be considered late.

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the mailbox rule to extend to electronic tax payments and documents.

The IRS should not treat taxpayers who choose to file electronically differently than those who file by mail. This bill would ensure the same standard for all Americans regardless of how they file.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time so I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1152 is a narrowly targeted bill that can provide meaningful help and assurance to taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to reluctantly oppose H.R. 1156 that would extend the statute of limitations for pandemic unemployment insurance fraud for 5 years.

During the pandemic, criminal actors and fraud rings took advantage of overwhelmed State unemployment offices and unqualified contractors to steal billions of dollars from American taxpayers. Like the rest of my Democratic colleagues, I have strongly supported the Department of Labor Inspector General's, or OIG, efforts to serve justice and recover taxpayer dollars.

We opposed Republican cuts to the OIG budget that slowed their work. Then 2 years ago, when the inspector general recommended we extend the statute of limitations for specific crimes to allow more time for prosecution of criminal rings, we tried to work with our Republican colleagues on a bill to accomplish that.

Why then am I opposing this bill today? Just before this bill was introduced, President Trump illegally fired the very inspector general who recommended this extension of the statute of limitations and who led the OIG's work to prosecute criminal rings, securing 1,400 convictions and over $1 billion in court-ordered restitution. President Trump also illegally fired 16 other nonpartisan inspectors general, the same officials we depend on to fight fraud and hold agencies accountable.

Since that time, we have seen Elon Musk and his DOGE team sweep through Federal agencies, firing experts, demanding access to American citizens' most sensitive identity and financial information, and levying unfounded accusations of fraud at Federal program beneficiaries, even at Social Security recipients.

One in four Americans received pandemic unemployment benefits. Many of them unknowingly received modest overpayments, often because of State or contractor errors. For example, Arkansas businesses received specific instructions from the Arkansas unemployment office about how their workers should report income on their pandemic unemployment applications. Unfortunately, this guidance was incorrect, resulting in overpayments.

Consequently, the Arkansas unemployment office applied to the Department of Labor for permission to waive overpayments to employees whose employers gave them incorrect information. These workers did nothing wrong, but the bill today would allow the DOGE team to falsely claim these workers defrauded the government and file criminal charges 10 years after they spent the funds on rent and food to survive the pandemic.

Extending the statute of limitations without a Senate-confirmed nonpartisan inspector general and without any guardrails limiting the extension to serious criminals could put every American who lost their job during the pandemic at risk of harassment and accusations of fraud.

Given the false accusations of rampant fraud by Federal program beneficiaries, coupled with the administration's stopping enforcement against criminal activity by certain foreign adversaries, any extension of the statute of limitations needs guardrails in the law to protect workers who were unemployed during the pandemic.

I filed an amendment to limit the extension to cases with an expected recovery of at least $100,000, which is standard practice at the Office of Inspector General right now. I am deeply disappointed that my amendment that would simply codify current practice was not made in order so that I could support the bill.

This bill will also cut the Department of Labor's limited budget to support State fraud prevention, including criminal identity verification tools.

As unemployment surges across the country due to the DOGE firing of Federal employees and contractors, due to the Trump administration's illegal cuts to nonprofits and theft of Federal funding, and due to the Trump trade wars, States will need all the help they can get to pay benefits accurately and to protect against the same bad actors that targeted us during the pandemic.

Mr. Speaker, given the failure of this Republican bill to protect the tens of millions of unemployed workers during the pandemic from the DOGE witch hunt, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill until language is included that ensures that the prosecution focus remains on criminal rings and large-scale fraud rather than overpayments due to State individual errors.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, after listening to the comments of Chairman Smith and my Republican colleagues, it is pretty clear to me that they don't intend to stay the course, the course that led to 1,400 convictions. It appears that they really intend to prosecute everybody, the whole group, everybody involved.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my Democratic colleagues for their thoughtful comments and ongoing efforts to fight fraud while protecting workers from harassment.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the bill so that we can incorporate the guardrails needed to balance our goals of prosecuting criminals and protecting innocent workers from harassment by DOGE or others who might misuse this authority. I trust that those individuals will not have to endure the harassment that often comes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, back in 2021, when we passed the bipartisan infrastructure law, Congress felt it was necessary to pay for what we spent. That is a novel concept around here these days, I know. As part of the offsets to that truly bipartisan bill, we made some changes around tax reporting for the sale of cryptocurrency.

Under the tax system, taxpayers are required to pay tax when they sell an asset, such as stocks or securities, at a gain. I know that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle bristle at that notion, but that is how our income tax works.

Nothing in the bipartisan infrastructure law changed anything about the tax that cryptocurrency sellers owe. Instead, we created a reporting requirement relating to the sales of these assets. When you sell stock with a stockbroker, the broker reports the proceeds of the sale to both you and the Internal Revenue Service.

Probably to no one's surprise, when there is independent reporting on these sales, taxpayers are more likely to report their income to the Internal Revenue Service. It is simple human nature. When there is an independent check on one's financial gain, taxpayers are more honest in their reporting of that gain.

This resolution today would repeal some but not all of the Treasury regulations by the Biden administration regarding the new reporting requirements related to sales of cryptocurrency. Although cryptocurrency is exchanged on both centralized and decentralized platforms, the bill today only repeals the regulation related to decentralized exchanges.

This inconsistent treatment of cryptocurrency exchanges leaves a significant gap in this reporting system. If this CRA passes, while redundant, taxpayers, who would rather avoid paying taxes on the gains of their cryptocurrency sale, can now move to a decentralized exchange knowing that the transaction would not be subject to reporting.

In fact, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that this bill will cost the Federal Government $4 billion in tax revenue. That is, this bill is expected to cause $4 billion in tax cheating. It is clear to me that this bill weakens the Internal Revenue Service's ability to detect and reduce cheating.

Further, I am deeply troubled by the potential of this bill to bolster nefarious criminal activity. Decentralized exchanges are far less regulated than other exchanges. They are known for being a method of laundering the sales of fentanyl and human trafficking.

At the Rules Committee hearing yesterday, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle suggested that nothing is stopping Congress from coming back and modifying the rules to ensure tax compliance.

Unfortunately, given that my Republican colleagues have repeatedly promoted tax cheating by the wealthy by their repeated efforts to cut funding for IRS enforcement, this claim that they would take action to ensure tax compliance in the deregulated crypto world rings hollow.

In short, this is an unpaid-for $4 billion giveaway to wealthy crypto traders with the potential for side-effects that are much worse.

Mr. Speaker, for that reason, I do not support this joint resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the heartfelt arguments from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, but at the end of the day, it is hard for me to overcome the fact that this bill would add $4 billion to the deficit solely due to taxpayer noncompliance.

If Republicans have a meaningful solution to address this noncompliance, we look forward to working with them on it, but embracing tax cheating by completely throwing these rules out is simply not the answer.

Mr. Speaker, for that reason, I do not support this joint resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a dear friend, great vocalist, entertainer, outstanding civic and community leader, and a solid member for many years of the Cook County Board of Commissioners with a primary focus on healthcare, Jerry Butler.

Jerry was born in Sunflower, Mississippi, and his parents, like thousands of other Blacks, migrated to Chicago. As a matter of fact, we fondly sometimes call Chicago ``northern Mississippi.''

Jerry's family lived in the Cabrini-Green area, which was a large public housing development. That is where Jerry, Curtis Mayfield, and their friends, as young teenagers and young adults, sang spirituals and doo-wops, hung out, and had fun.

They ultimately formed a group called The Roosters and then The Impressions. The Impressions were sensational. Jerry performed with them for a bit, and then he went solo.

After leaving the group in 1960, Jerry achieved over 55 Billboard pop and rhythm and blues hits as a solo artist. Some of his top hits were ``He Will Break Your Heart,'' ``Let It Be Me,'' and ``Only the Strong Survive.'' Jerry cowrote the song ``For Your Precious Love,'' which is ranked No. 321 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Jerry was known as the Iceman. He even played a small role in a movie.

Jerry was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 1985 and served there until he retired in 2018.

His last election was in 2014 in which he received 80 percent of the votes.

Jerry served as host of PBS' TV music specials such as ``Doo Wop 50'' and ``Doo Wop 51''; ``Rock, Rhythm & Doo Wop''; ``Rhythm and Blues 40: A Soul Spectacular.''

He also served as chairman of the board of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.

In 1991, Jerry was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, along with the other original members of The Impressions: Curtis Mayfield, Sam Gooden, Fred Cash, Richard Brooks, and Arthur Brooks.

When Jerry and I served on the Cook County Board together, I was walking down the hall one morning humming ``Moon River,'' and I passed Jerry's door. He hollered out and said: I hear you. I said: Well, how am I doing? He said: Well, don't quit your day job.

Well, Jerry, I didn't quit my day job. I am still here, and I know that he is

up there in Heaven with all of the other soul singers. We are never going to give him up, and I know that he is up there leading them in glory, hallelujah, His truth is marching on.

The only thing that I can say is Jerry lived a life well done, and I will see him when I get there.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 579, the Recruiting Families Using Data Act.

This legislation is a good example of Congress doing the work our constituents sent us here to do. Last Congress, my former colleague, Dan Kildee, worked closely with Representative Feenstra to introduce this bipartisan bill, which is based on solid research and the fundamental principle that if we want to know what is best for foster youth and their families, we should ask them.

The result was this bill, which would require States to create a new family partnership plan to explain how they are identifying, screening, engaging, and supporting foster and adoptive families, in consultation with people with lived experience.

To me, one of the most critical aspects of this will be engaging with the child's family, whether it is by placing foster children with family members directly or making space for kin who can't be foster parents to still support the child and the foster parents.

Last Congress, we marked up this bill in the Ways and Means Committee and sent it to the floor with our unanimous consent. While it passed the House on a strong bipartisan vote, I was disappointed that the bill did not become law. I am glad to support it again. I believe it is a strong complement to the

bipartisan legislation we enacted last year reauthorizing child welfare services, which included many good ideas from both sides of the aisle.

As we continue to hear that Elon Musk and his band of hackers are rampaging through Federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, firing policy experts, falsely accusing Americans of fraud, freezing and terminating investments that were directed by Congress, I hope we can return to the kind of partnership and genuine concern for vulnerable Americans that sparked both bills.

Move fast and break stuff might be a good model for technology companies, but it is wrong for the programs we have created to protect children.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this good bill to help ensure that children in foster care are in safe, appropriate homes.

I further urge my colleagues to work with us to stop these indiscriminate, illegal layoffs and funding cuts which threaten to undermine the good bipartisan work we have done on behalf of vulnerable children.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 33, the United States-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act. This bill represents a bilateral tax agreement that prevents doubling taxation on U.S. and Taiwanese businesses and workers.

This bill helps promote Taiwanese investment in the United States and job creation. The bill provides benefits to Taiwanese residents similar to those provided in the 2016 U.S. model tax treaty.

Importantly, these new provisions do not take effect until Taiwan offers American residents the same benefits. The bill, H.R. 33, would strengthen trade relations, increase manufacturing production, boost innovation, create economic growth for the U.S. and Taiwan, and allow our country to compete more effectively with China by increasing trade and business commerce in both goods and services.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' for H.R. 33. It is good for Americans, as well as Taiwanese, and good for both countries.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise to pay tribute to my longtime friend, associate, and office mate. His office is around the corner from mine. We meet each other in the hall almost every day.

I really want to thank him for the tremendous service that he has provided to the people of this country and especially the outstanding work that he has done in healthcare.

I also mention the fact that he is as much of a politician as he is a political person, but a doctor first and foremost.

I thank Michael for co-chairing the Congressional Sickle Cell Disease Caucus and working with Representative Lee and myself, all the many years that we have been a part of that.

I understand that our sickle cell bill is going to be in the CR whenever we get to it, and I also understand that one of the reasons that it is there is Dr. Michael Burgess.

As he goes, wherever he goes, however he goes in whatever he does, I will just leave him with this old Irish blessing, and that is:

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the Sun always be warm on your back.

May the wind push you forward; and until we meet again, may the good Lord hold you in the palm of his hand.

I wish Dr. Burgess the best of wishes and good luck. I hope you enjoy your life. We will miss you.

Mr. Speaker, I couldn't let the evening go by without coming to pay tribute to Barbara, one of the fiercest, most courageous, hardest working, and most energized persons I have ever known during my lifetime.

Seeing what you have contributed and the way in which you have done it, as I listen to each one of the people who spoke--World AIDS Day probably wouldn't be taking place. We just celebrated it on the 1st of December, and people all over the country and all over the Nation celebrated World AIDS Day. That is a part of your work.

The focus on SNAP and hungry people, people needing food, that is a part of your work, making sure that people got second chances and that they got money.

Every session, when we get to appropriations, we always say: Are we really going to get the money we need for people to have these programs?

Barbara Lee is there, and we know that Barbara has got our back.

The focus on international relationships, I think I got two boxes of Castro's cigars. I never smoked, but I got two boxes of Castro cigars. He would keep us up all night. He never wanted to quit and go to bed. Somebody would have to say: Mr. President, we have got other people to see tomorrow and other things to do.

The whole health arena, how much fun I had working with Clyde and the folks out in San Francisco and Oakland, where when we started with what is known as the federally qualified health centers. When I started, there were 10. Now, there are 1,400 all over America, taking care of more than 30 million low-income and moderate-income people in this country.

So, Barbara, you have done it.

My mother used to tell us a little poem. She used to say: If you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be the best little shrub on the side of the hill. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be the Moon, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or you fail. But be the best, the very best, of whatever you are.

That is what you have been. That is what you are. God bless you. Keep on working.

Do what the spirit says.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to recognize the service of Dr. Mark Bouman who is retiring this week from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Dr. Bouman worked for the Field Museum for over 15 years, serving most recently as the Senior Environmental Social Scientist and, before that, as the Chicago Region Program Director at the Museum's Keller Science Action Center. His work focused on efforts to build better bridges between people and nature across the Chicagoland region and the urban world.

A lifelong Chicagoan who received his undergraduate degree in Geography from Valparaiso University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Bouman has taught at Valparaiso, the University of Minnesota, University of British Columbia, Elmhurst College, Chicago State University, and the University of Chicago. He has received numerous awards for teaching excellence, funding for research and technical assistance projects, and authored or co-authored a myriad of peer-reviewed articles and publications.

Dr. Bouman has played a leading role in raising awareness of the incredible culturally- and environmentally-diverse Calumet region. The Calumet region is a bi-state area that spans from the Pullman National Historical Park to the Indiana Dunes National Park. It is loosely bounded by the former U.S. Steel South Works in Chicago, portions of suburban Chicago, and the Indiana counties of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte. From Lake Michigan to the Indiana Dunes to the Grand Calumet River to the Kankakee River. The Calumet is a landscape reworked for industrial use that is now undergoing vigorous restoration for recreational and educational uses to enrich the lives of its residents and visitors.

While at Chicago State University, which anchors one corner of the Calumet region, Dr. Bouman started the University's Neighborhood Assistance Center, the Calumet Environmental Resource Center, and the GIS Laboratory. He also helped establish the Lake Calumet Ecosystem Partnership and was Project Director on a map for Chicago Wilderness that serves as an important touchstone for current planning work in the region.

Dr. Bouman's many involvements in regional affairs have included serving as: President of the Calumet Heritage Partnership, where he has tirelessly advocated for the creation of a Calumet National Heritage Area; Co-Chair of the Calumet Stewardship Initiative, as a Member of the Working Group of Vital Lands Illinois; and as a Member of the Millennium Reserve Steering Committee.

In addition to his volunteer pursuits, Dr. Bouman is a huge Cubs fan with an encyclopedic knowledge of stats and history about the game overall, a community choir singer, and a train buff; one year, he was even given the chance to drive a train for his birthday. He's also one of those people who shares a lot of obscure trivia, much to everyone's delight, not just about The Calumet region but about old Hollywood movies, politics, and many other things.

Please join me in thanking Dr. Bouman for his service and extending best wishes on his retirement. I have no doubt he will continue to stay actively involved on behalf of our region.